cultivating and enjoying the simple pleasures of faith, family and home

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Favorite shopping sources?

Just thought I would throw this out there and see what you ladies may know about that I do not!

I am a petite - and shopping for clothing is VERY hard! I find it so hard to find clothes that fit right, are flattering and cute too! I'm exactly five feet tall and will say that more and more of the petite smalls are too big for me - please help!

I cannot possibly be the only five foot female out there struggling with this - just this week I ordered three skirts and two tops and they are all being sent back - I'd love to hear how other petites find clothes to fit!

Thrift store shopping is an option - and I have found some great items there! I know that many probably just get their clothes altered, but that doesn't feel like it fits in my budget!

24 comments:

I'm also 5' and curvy with a small waist. I know how hard it is. I buy my clothes at Ann Taylor Petites, Ann Taylor Loft Petites and Talbots Petites. I rarely pay full price since it can cost alot. Also try Nordstrom Rack, you can find some nice piece of clothing there too. Good luck, it's not easy being petite.

I purchase a lot of my long skirts from J.Jill. They are pricey when they're full price, but often go on sale. I am also five feet even and their stuff goes down to XSP (or maybe it's XXSP) and 0P, so I often can find things to fit. :) Good luck! I find it hard to find modest things that are cute too!

I'm 5 feet too! I'm Asian and find it hard to find clothes that fit. Sometimes I hit clearance aisles at the Junior sections at the mall. I don't like to try online shopping yet coz I just don't want to take the risk of wasting my time and energy looking for clothes online only to find out they don't fit. Usually, I hit the goodwill near a certain university belt at the next town. That's where I get most of my clothes from. I can't really find my size here in our town coz it's mostly older people here so I find it easier to find my size at the other town

I'm right at 5 feet tall too, and I have found a good selection of Petites at JCPenney. That's where I buy all of my jeans (when they go on sale for less than $20 of course, LOL). I also like Sears' petite section. The "short" length at Old Navy used to fit me but is now way too long.

My sister-in-law struggles with this, as she is around your same height and quite thin. She said the store that fits her best (although not super easy to find everywhere) is H & M. I don't know if there is one near to you or not. Her sister is also quite small, just not the exact same shape, and she does well at Ann Taylor Loft.

a different approach...Do you sew? You're pretty crafty, i.e. amazingly crafty and I didn't know it this applies to sewing. I am not crafty, but can sew so I know they don't always translate. If you sew, go to your local fabric store and sign up for some FREE tutorials on different techniques then you can either make or alter your own things. OR...get together with a friend who is a good seamstress and have her alter your clothes...in exchange for freezer meals, or doing her ironing, or watching her kids or making some craft she would never attempt...

Good luck. I'm petit too with a few added challenges and it can be really challenging...especially when you try to be modest too...

I also have the opposite problem! knee length skirts go down to mid thigh! Pants are never long enough and talls are often very hard to find...especially on sale. Can't wait to fit into my heavenly garmets:-)

I see my suggestion has already been selected. My petite friends have a lot of luck at Ann Taylor Loft. We actually discussed this recently b/c I NEVER have luck there...and then we realized it was the 5'0 petite crowd that did well there. ha :) I know their clothes can be pricey, but they have great sales...and they maintain the color scheme every season...so if you buy something this season that you love, you can buy coordinating pieces over the next several seasons that will be guaranteed to match. I'm actually jealous of that b/c none of the stores that I shop in do that. So my friends get to brag about making their clothes last forever b/c they can update them with a new coordinating piece or accessory whenever they want. Good luck!

I am 5' 3" and recently discovered Talbots Petites. They have beautiful, well-made and (usually) modest clothes. They are pricey, but have many sales and an outlet section on the website where you can sometimes buy skirts for around $25.

If you can find conservative clothes in the teen department, have a ball there! I've seen nice teen clothing in Kohl's dept stores. I am a size small and can often wear teen medium or large. I am 5'2.5.

I'm sorry that I can't help you. My dilemma, if I may take the liberty of mentioning it here, is very long legs. I have had the “problem” since I was a teen, and you would think that in the last 30 years, SOMEONE would have come up with inexpensive long dress pants (jeans aren't as much of a problem; I just buy men's) that one can find regularly in the stores. I don’t have it in my budget to special order from a department store, and Wal-Mart, Target, etc. are out of the question, as they don’t ever carry longs that I have found. I also have pretty straight hips, which adds to the difficulty. Sigh… Good luck with your quandary. :)

Wow I'm glad to know I'm not the only (barely)5 foot mommy out there :)I buy most of my clothes at Lands End. I also like Eddie Bauer but they are a bit pricier and don't seem to fit as well. I have some weight to lose though and that is part of the problem. I also like Ann Taylor Loft. Talbots has some beautiful things too but it's way out of my price range.

I'm also just barely 5'. I have great luck with pants at JcPenney's and Kohls collection of Petite Lee slacks. Lee brand is the only one I've found that is the right length. Sometime the JCPenney St. John's Bay brand gets it right but not often.

I also love Talbot's Petites and I'm fortunate to live near the outlet where I often find tops for under $5 and skirts for around $10. Can't beat those prices. Unfortunately their petite pants are still way too long for me.

I am 5'1" and really like NY& Co and Ann Taylor Loft. They both always have petite pants that fit great as well as tops. For jeans, I love American Eagle or Aero...I know, I know...teeny-bopper stores...but they fit my smaller frame so well. :)

I wear dresses and skirts 99% of the time because I adore them, but I have such a hard time finding pants that fit (I'm 5'3) that skirts are just much easier on the whole! My mom's hemming skills are always put to good use ;o) and a tailor could become my best friend if I didn't have my mom already.

Yes, I have the same problem... just barely 5' and usually get an XS Petite or XXS petite depending on brands/companies. There have been some great finds for me at Ann Taylor Loft, and they have wonderful sales and clearance quite often. I've had some hit and miss with Chadwicks.com but their 2P skirts and petite small shirts generally do fit for me! You can usually find free shipping coupon codes and others if you do a quick search online. Every once in a while, I find items at Old Navy (in store and online), so you can try your luck there, too :o)

I am 5' 2" and was skinny for a long time so finally I just started altering the clothes myself. Then I invest in elastic waist skirt and cotton t-shirts and cotton long sleeve shirts to avoid the form fitting "tailored" skirts that don't fit me well in my lack of a chest ;) unless I wear padded bras- lovely. I no longer have a sewing machine but need to get one so I can only find short length jeans to fit and when I get a sewing machine then I can get the dress pants at secondhand stores and just tailor them to me.Honestly learning to alter was pretty easy to learn and I do that much better than trying to piece together a garment from a pattern.